October 8, 2010

Cool Breeze, Tight Squeeze

Thanks to some uncommonly cool temperatures in my neck of the woods, I decided to move all the plants from my patio inside for the past few nights so they wouldn’t freeze. Since I am a bit challenged in the window department, I usually have to rearrange the furniture when this time of year rolls around. The current cold snap snuck up on me so I haven’t had a chance to find permanent indoor living spaces for my green babies for the winter. Some of them come to live at my office where they can get more sun.

I have found a few good tips for transitioning plants that have been outdoors. These have worked for me, but my plants are fairly general…not much specialized care is needed.

Wash foliage with plain water…I try to wipe off the top and bottom of each leaf

Add a little extra (fresh) soil to each plant or repot entirely if it looks like it has outgrown its current container

Check for bugs…adding extra soil seems to help with this issue

Keep a spray bottle handy to mist the plants. The biggest issue of bringing them inside over the winter is the dry air. Keep them a little moist!

Put every plant on a saucer…you can go totally cheap with those clear plastic ones or repurpose odd plates and bowls

The image above is not mine, but I do have Christmas Cacti like the ones pictured here and I have to say they are the easiest plants I’ve ever grown. I bought two of them for $1 each at a yard sale a couple of years ago. When a piece falls off you can root it in a different pot. I now have about 7 different containers of this lovely plant which will bloom later in the year.